Other Wybie
by JenKristo
Summary: Other Wybie lay alone in the Beldam’s sewing room, pinned to the table like a dead moth. There was no escape as he waited his punishment for pulling a long face in front of Coraline. Coraline x Wybie.
1. Clip One

If you've seen the movie you'll understand what fits in the gaps between the clips.

Clip One

Other Wybie lay alone in the Beldam's sewing room. Long pins ran through his black coat and pants, wedged into the wood table like a dead moth pinned under glass. There was no escape as he waited his punishment for pulling a long face in front of Coraline.

Finally the Beldam entered the room; her body was still a decent copy of Coraline's mother. She looked almost sweet as she busied herself around the room, looking for the right supplies.

"Now I know it's hard for you, seeing you've grown so fond of Coraline, but if you want to continue to exist you'll have to keep smiling."

"I won't be existing very long even if Coraline does let you sew buttons into her eyes," Other Wybie growled, "You'll just suck the life out of her and unthread this world for the next child."

"True," the Beldam said. She clipped the thread off the spool and sidled over to Other Wybie, a smile playing on her dark lipstick. "But I could make things mighty unpleasant in the short time you'll exist."

"Please don't do this to her," Other Wybie began to beg, his bravado failing as he thought of Coraline. "Not her."

"She's all you've ever known," the Beldam said, "Who else do you have to compare her to? Let me tell you, son, that Coraline is nothing special. She's just another human spawn for me to devour. Besides, what kind of girl prefers her friend not to speak?"

"She's just a child," Other Wybie reasoned, his affection unchanged. Thinking of her flaws made him think about all the years it would take for her to find herself, to develop her morals and become a young woman. His chest heaved with anguish at the thought that the Beldam could make that future evaporate. "You can't do this to her!" he screamed, his voice cracking in perfect mimicry of the real Wybie.

The Beldam grimaced and grabbed Other Wybie's jaw, forcing his mouth open. Her other hand transformed into it's true sewing needle form and forced it's way past his teeth and down his throat. Other Wybie gagged and whimpered as the cold needles pierced through his fabric vocal cords, slicing them completely. The Beldam pulled out her hand and sighed as Other Wybie coughed and wheezed. "I think I prefer you not to be able to speak to anyone," she said, "Not just Coraline."

She turned back to her thread and sewing needle, her mood uplifted once more. "Now back to my original intention, to put a smile onto your face."

To Be Continued…

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	2. Clip Two

This isn't right after Clip One. There's a gap that's filled with what happens in the movie.

Clip Two

"If I win," Coraline said to the Beldam in the kitchen, "Then you have to free everyone you've trapped here, the other children and my parents."

"Deal," the Beldam said with a calm smile.

Coraline hesitated, thinking of Other Wybie who'd been gutted, his clothes hanging from Bobinski's flag pole like a severed head on a stake. "And you have to fix Other Wybie," she added. It was a huge addition to the deal, but the worst that would happen is the Beldam would say 'no'.

The Beldam chuckled. "Silly little Coraline. If you think Other Wybie is better than your Wybie back at home, then you haven't learned a single thing."

"What do you mean?"

The Beldam stared with her black button eyes. "Think about it."

Coraline walked away to find the three children's eyes. Cat popped his head out of her bag and sighed.

Coraline thought hard. She knew this whole world was a copy of the real world, made to look better, but it really wasn't better at all.

"Other Wybie saved me," she said to Cat, "He helped me escape. He has to be better."

Cat clucked his tongue. "Other Wybie was only more useful because he understood the Beldam and the world she created. You don't believe the real Wybie would have done the same if he knew about it all? A reflection in a mirror can't be clearer than the original."

"I still don't understand," said Coraline hopelessly as she searched for the child eyes outside.

"Think of it this way," Cat said as he lept from the bag, "The Beldam didn't just copy the real world. She copied its potential and dressed it up."

Coraline stopped in her tracks and looked at Cat.

"You mean that Other Wybie…"

"…is everything in Wybie's heart. That doll represented Wybie's potential. It may take the rest of his life for him to find it, but it's there."

"You're right!" Coraline said with confidence, "The Beldam couldn't be the source of someone good like Other Wybie! Wybie's heart is the real source!"

"Now you've got it." Cat said.

Coraline breathed. "I have to get back to him."

To be continued…

Review and tell me what you think!


	3. Clip Three

Clip Three

Wybie sent the rock smashing down on the Beldam's needle hand. Coraline calmed her breathing and wrapped up the rock with the remnants of the hand, tying the bundle with the string and the button key. Wybie helped her carry it to the well, tossing the heavy bundle into the dark abyss.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Wybie said, wrapping an arm over Coraline's shoulders supportively. Coraline pushed his arm aside and embraced him, sending a blush over his face.

Coraline climbed onto the back of Wybie's bike and wrapped her arms around his waist as he drove her home.

"Well I'll see you later, then?" Wybie said sheepishly as Coraline went to her door.

Coraline smiled warmly and nodded, slipping inside. Wybie sighed, kicking his bike on and speeding home. Just over the hill and past a line of trees he drove, to a lovely little house where his Grandmother was surely sleeping. He put his bike in the garage and crept to his room as quietly as he could.

His eyes grew heavy as the weight of the day caught up with him, and despite his worries about the monsters in Coraline's house and befriending the girl herself, Wybie drifted into sleep.

The moment he fell asleep, the memories hit him like a tsunami.

He was pinned down to a table, confused because he had only one eye. He looked to the left and saw a monstrous, spider-like woman leaning over him. He felt cold metal touching the darkness where his other eye should have been, and then watched as the beastly woman pulled the needle from his face, carrying a long string behind it. The cold needle pierced his face again and he blinked as his vision appeared in the other eye.

"I was just finishing your eyes," said the woman. "Your name is Other Wybie, and you can call me The Beldam."

More memories flashed through his dream, and soon he began to understand basic concepts. He was in a doll, and this world was a spider web fashioned to ensnare Coraline. He joined her as she visited Bobinski and his circus mice, and when she watched the old ladies down stairs transform into their younger selves. He watched the Beldam scream and growl when Coraline refused the offer of button eyes, and he felt the sharp stab of the needle as The Beldam sewed his mouth into a smile.

And then there was another memory that came to him in real time.

Coraline knelt at the tiny door leading home. She looked back at Other Wybie who was helping her escape.

"Come on! Let's go."

Other Wybie shook his head and pulled off one of his gloves. The hand beneath was nothing but black sand that blew away like a sandcastle in the wind. With his other hand he pushed her towards the door but she resisted.

"No, wait," she said hastily. She pulled Other Wybie close to her. It was so clear in the dream that Wybie could feel her small hands press against him and her blue hair tickling his face as she neared. She kissed him, for a moment that lasted forever and not long enough all at once. She pulled away from him and looked sad.

"I hope I see you again."

And soon after that memory, another came where the Beldam unthreaded him stitch by stitch and poured out the sand from his body.

Wybie sat straight up in bed as the sequence of dreams, or rather memories ended. He felt like he was two people in one. He held his head, trying to ease the headache from the enormous amount of new memories. He sighed, but not in bliss as he had last night when he had dropped Coraline at her door.

He knew now who Coraline really had feelings for and it certainly wasn't the real Wybie.

To be continued…

Be Kind and Rewind... or Review.


	4. Clip Four

Clip Four

Days went by and things at the Pink Palace calmed down. Coraline's parents prepared for the garden party. The sun shown brightly as Coraline walked around the garden with a tray of lemonade in her hands, passing them to the ladies from downstairs and Mr. Bobinski, who was planting vegetables where the flowers should have been.

"Careful grandma," she heard Wybie say from behind.

"I know exactly where I'm going! I grew up here," said Wybie's stubborn grandmother.

Coraline turned with a smile, but the tray slipped from her hands as she saw what was before her. The drinks clattered and spilled over the cobblestone walk way as she saw Other Wybie with his button eyes and all.

She blinked again and realized she had been confused. Wybie was his normal self with natural green eyes. He looked at her skeptically and she laughed.

"Sorry, you startled me," she said as she picked up the spilt drink glasses and moved the tray to the side. She grinned and ran to him, then composed herself when she became aware of his grandmother.

"Hey Coraline," Wybie said with a sad smile.

"Mrs. Lovat," Coraline's mother said as she and her husband approached them. "It's so nice to finally meet you. And your grandson! Coraline won't stop talking about him."  
"Shh, Mom!" Coraline complained as she elbowed her mother.

Coraline's parents continued to speak with Mrs. Lovat, and slowly Coraline and Wybie slipped away.

"Do you want to go do something?" Coraline asked. "Isn't there a lake a few miles away? We could go catch frogs like you said before."

Wybie took in a determined breath, telling himself he would have to get over his crush on Coraline. She probably liked him, but Wybie knew it was because of Other Wybie, not himself. He agreed to go with a smile on his face.

As they walked through the woods, Coraline thought about Wybie. She didn't want to like him just because of Other Wybie and what his heart's potential was. After all, potential doesn't mean anything if it isn't carried out. She thought about Wybie more, and she knew he was great even without Other Wybie. He'd rode in on his motor bike like a bat out of hell to rescue her from the Beldam's clutches, and when he began to call her 'Coraline' instead of 'Caroline,' she knew he could listen, it just takes him a while. She held in a giggle, thinking about how much fun Wybie really was. After this reverie, she worked up the nerve to take his hand. But her heart was crushed when Wybie gently worked his hand out of her grasp.

Coraline became frustrated. "Wybie, I need to tell you something."

Wybie looked at her wearily.

"I really like you," she said.

Strangely, Wybie looked like he had expected it, and to her dismay, he didn't seem very happy.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I just like you as a friend." His skeleton-gloved hands clenched into fists.

They stood in silence and Coraline swallowed the lump in her throat. She was pretty surprised, and thought herself selfish for assuming he'd respond. "Well, ok then. Let's forget it and just be friends!" She smiled, continuing towards the lake and trying not to cry.

"There are newts at the lake too," Wybie said. They're really hard to catch, but it's cool if you do."

"That's neat," Coraline said, and the sound of her voice betrayed her effort not to cry.

Wybie ignored her tone and continued light conversation. It made him feel terrible, but he knew it was for the best. She appreciated it, and soon she could speak normally. They talked about fishing until the mood lightened a bit, though their time at the lake was an awkward one.

School began in a few weeks. Coraline hated her new uniform, and her favorite thing to do was find accessories to spice up her look. Her teacher hated her hair as well as the principal, but she convinced them to let her keep it blue if she kept her grades above a B+. It wasn't too hard, and thus her hair remained blue.

Coraline started to understand the dynamics of the students, and of Wybie. He studied and focused so hard on school that he didn't really have time for friends, though some of the boys talked with him now and then. To Coraline's joy, Wybie seemed to only make time for her. She herself made some girl friends, but she enjoyed Wybie's company the most.

She convinced herself that she didn't have feelings for Wybie, and three long years would pass before it would be brought up once more.

To be continued…

Please review! I love to hear what you think.


	5. Clip Five

I changed it to first person from now on.

Clip Five

Two years past since the Beldam was locked away. By the eighth grade, I only thought of Wybie in 'that' way now and then. I distracted myself with other boyfriends. Plenty of guys in school wanted to date me, though I couldn't really understand what the fuss about me was. It was good though, because it took my mind off Wybie. I'd date a boy, but when they came too close, I'd think of my best friend and apologetically break up with them.

But when high school began a year later, my feelings for him became unmanageable. He'd grown so much in the last year, and was now one of the tallest boys in our freshmen class. He'd also passed the awkward voice-changing stage, and now when he spoke in his new deeper voice, a shiver would run up my spine. His cute looks had grown to be handsome, and I found myself furiously jealous when girls began to flirt with him. Lucky for me, Wybie never gave them the time of day.

"Let's go camping, Coraline!" Wybie said enthusiastically when he saved enough money from working at the grocery store to buy a tent.

I eyed the tent wearily, where he had set it up about a mile from the Pink Palace. He was so proud of it; I couldn't possibly bring him down for purchasing the ugly red thing.

"There's not a lot of room in there," I said, "And we're not eleven anymore. Don't you think it's weird?"

Wybie's shoulders slumped a bit because he knew I had a valid point. It made me laugh inside to see it. Wybie's posture had improved dramatically by the time we entered high school, but whenever he was depressed he would slip back into his old awkward stance.

He straightened up again, an idea possessing him. "I'll stay outside when you want to put your pajamas on."

I rolled my eyes. "I figured you'd at least give me the tent when I wanted to change! But we'd be sleeping in what, a five foot by seven foot space?"  
Wybie looked heartbroken. "But I want to build a fire and toast hot dogs and get bitten by mosquitoes and be afraid of the noises outside the tent! It'll be too scary if I'm on my own. I need you to be there so I can pretend to be the brave one."

I laughed. "You have this all figured out, don't you?"  
Wybie nodded, trying his best puppy face on me. It used to work better, but now he was just too mature looking to pull it off. Honestly, the whole camping experience sounded super fun. The only problem was the sleeping. I'd be next to my best friend who I'd liked for ages.  
"Can I just go back to my house when it's time to go to sleep?"  
Wybie looked indignant. "And leave me alone out here? I don't think so."  
I sighed. "Okay, fine."

To Be Continued…

Review or get off the pot. JK.


	6. Clip Six

Clip Six  
"Yes!" He hissed, grabbing me in a powerful bear hug and lifting me off the ground in a spin. I screamed and he set me down under pain of being scratched or bitten.  
The evening flew by. We still preferred crazy outdoor adventures to video games or movies which the other high school students enjoyed. We collected wood and cooked hot dogs and marshmallows and Twinkies and pineapple slices and whatever else we could find in our kitchens. Wybie gave me the tent to myself to change. When I came out in my orange and pink pajamas, I was astonished to see that he was changed as well.  
"Did you change outside?"  
"Yeah, so what?"  
There were several things I almost said but managed not to. Instead I shook my head and blamed him for being a guy.  
Lying in our sleeping bags with all the sounds of the soft wind and creaking trees outside, I grinned. "I gotta admit this is pretty fun."  
"Told you!" he said, folding his arms behind his head as he sprawled out on his army-green sleeping bag. He closed his eyes and sighed, and I couldn't help but look over him on this rare opportunity that I could.  
His pajama bottoms were grey and black stripes, ones I had picked out for him when I tagged along to the store with his grandmother last fall. Because he grew so fast, both his pajama pants and tank top were already a little too short. With his arms stretched back, his black tank top was pulled up, exposing his flat tummy. My mouth hung open ever so slightly as I wondered how it would feel to the touch.  
Wybie was fit. His grandma had insisted he join the football team at the beginning of the year, which Wybie hated the idea of. He thought football was for jocks, but in the end he seemed to like it, even though he made fun of the game even to this day. But unlike the other boys on the team who had grown bulky with muscle, Wybie managed to keep a basketball player's figure, lean and very tall.  
But it wasn't his looks that made me crush on him so hard. God knows he was the strangest looking kid in town when we first became friends. No, he had the biggest heart of anyone I'd ever known, or anyone I met in the Ashland private school.  
Staring at his stomach, I couldn't resist any longer. I got an idea that would get the naughty out of my system without making anything awkward between us. Quietly I snuck closer and pounced, pulling up his shirt and giving him a loud raspberry.  
"Aghh!!" he yelled as he grabbed me, trying to pull me off. "St-stop it! That tic-tickles!  
He lifted me up effortlessly, though awkwardly, and tossed me to the other side of him, finally dislodging me from his stomach. I tried to grab him again but he pinned me down, and I lay there laughing uncontrollably.  
He laughed too, flashing his brilliant smile that made me glad I was pinned down, protected from myself. I loved his mocha skin, his messy dreadlocks and the perfect green color of his eyes.

"You're crazy, Coraline," he laughed.  
That's when he leaned down in mid laugh, and kissed me on the forehead.  
My eyes widened and the smile fell from my face. I wanted to compose myself and laugh it off, but his soft lips and the feel of his warm breath on my skin was too much to ignore. My breath caught in my throat and his smile fell as he looked at my expression.  
"I'm sorry," he said as he scrambled away from me. "That was so stupid!" He unzipped the tent and tried to climb out.

To Be Continued…

You know, reviews are a great motivator for updates. 8D


	7. Clip Seven Finale

Clip Seven

"Wait!" I yelled, wrapping my arms around his knees until he fell forward, half way out of the tent. He lay there defeated, and I didn't let his legs go in fear that he would run off.

"What?" he said, still looking away.

"Wybie, do you like me?"

Wybie struggled to escape but I held him tighter, and I knew he wouldn't leave if it meant he had to be rough with me.

"Answer the question!"

"Of course I like you! You're my best friend."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about!"

Wybie awkwardly rolled onto his back, as I still clung to his knees. He looked at me with his lime-green eyes, his expression serious.

"Our friendship means more than anything to me," he said.

My heart sank.

"That's why I never wanted you to find out. I didn't want to screw anything up." He looked sheepish, even in the darkness of the night. "I guess camping really was a bad idea."

I couldn't believe my ears. I stared at him and he glanced at me wearily, waiting for my reaction.

"That's why you said you didn't like me? When we were kids and I told you I liked you? That was the reason?"

Wybie looked at me guiltily. "That's not all of it." He climbed back into the tent and looked around worriedly. "I'm going to show you something really weird. I should have shown you before, but I didn't think the time was right. See, it's really hard to do and I think it's getting more difficult. I'm pretty sure this will be the last time I can do it."

"What? What is it?"

Wybie put his hands over his eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Give me a minute," he said.

The sound of crickets chirping stopped abruptly and the wind rustling the trees died away. It became so quiet that I could hear the soft airy sound of the gas lantern burning in the corner of the tent. Wybie kept his hands over his eyes as he shifted his weight to the other side, in a slow fluid movement. He turned his head away from the light of the lantern and moved his hands to the floor. I couldn't see his face.

"Wybie?"

He turned as I called his name. As his face came into the light I fell backward with shock. Wybie had the same tall adult body, but where his eyes had been, there were shiny black buttons.

"O-Other Wybie?" I breathed.

Other Wybie nodded, his sad face pulling into the smallest smile. I pushed myself forward and hugged him, burying my face into his chest. His hand held my back and I pulled away to look at him.

"How is this possible?"

Other Wybie held his throat and shook his head.

"You still can't speak." I said sadly.

"I can whisper," he breathed so softly I almost missed it. "Coraline," he said, still whispering. "Wybie and I are the same. I need you to know that."

"I do know," I assured him.

He smiled a little more. "He thinks you love me. That's why he refused you. He didn't want to…" Wybie cleared his throat with a painful expression, "…to take advantage of your feelings for me."

I looked at Other Wybie sadly. "But you two are the same. And I love him!"

Other Wybie put a finger to my mouth and smiled. "Save it for him," he whispered, "Time to go."

"Where are you going?"

"Not far. Just in here." Other Wybie tapped his chest.

"Hold on," I said, and gently kissed the corner of his mouth, where a small scar formed from the time the Beldam had sewn his face into a smile. Other Wybie's brows drew together. He brushed his fingertips over my blue hair and kissed me gently on the lips. But before I could lean into the kiss, he drew back and covered his eyes. When he moved, Wybie was back.

"Wybie!" I said, so happy to see his gorgeous green eyes.

"Did you talk to him?" he asked.

I nodded. "Wybie, there's something you have to know. I- I'm so in love with you. Not because of Other Wybie, because of you."

Wybie bit his lip, overwhelmed with emotion. "But-"

"No buts! None! Now, I want you to do it again."

"Bring him back? I don't think I can-"

"No, no. The other thing."

He looked confused for a moment until a deep blush spread across my face, giving me away. A knowing look dawned on him and he leaned forward. I flushed even harder as he kissed me on the forehead.  
"You missed," I grumbled.  
I knew he was smiling now, but I refused to meet his eye. He put his hand behind my head as he kissed the tip of my nose.

"You're a jerk," I mumbled, and I took his face in my hands and slowly kissed his jaw. I was so pleased with his flustered expression. It was nice to see the tables had turned. I got nervous when I looked at him then, because this was it. After all these years I was about to kiss Wybourne Lovat. Our noses touched as we drew closer, and our lips brushed ever so slightly. The smell of him sent butterflies through my stomach and I crushed his tan mouth in a kiss. Wybie's large hands fumbled as he gripped my pajamas from behind. The feeling of his powerful arms around me, Wybie's arms, drove me crazy. I crawled on top of him, entwining my fingers in his messy dreadlocks. One kiss blended into the next. He rolled me onto my back as we switched places, and just as he leaned in again we heard a noise outside.

Wybie ignored it the first time, leaning down and kissing my neck, then moving to my collar bone. My chest tightened and my breathing sped as he whispered my name. But the second time we heard a definite snapping of twigs. The soft rustling of leaves encircled our tent and I clung to Wybie as he stared at the open tent flap.  
"Mrowww!" Cat bellowed as he poked his head inside the tent. Humor sparkled in his turquoise eyes as he successfully interrupted our first kiss.  
I sat up rigidly, flooded with irritation. "You stupid, mangy wuss-puss!"

Wybie laughed and grabbed the cat, flopping onto his back. He pulled me closer and I lay next to him, Cat curled comfortably between us. He kissed me again and I put my head on Wybie's chest, never having felt better in my life.

Finale

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